Here is the translation of the Roman de Tristan et Iseult of 1900 by Joseph Bedier. Here is the fifth part: Brangien delivered to the serfs.
Brangien delivered to the serfs
King Mark welcomed Iseut la Blonde to the shore. Tristan took her by the hand and led her before the king; the king seized her, taking her in turn by the hand. With great honor he led her towards the castle of Tintagel, and, when she appeared in the hall among the vassals, her beauty cast such light that the walls lit up, as if struck by the rising sun.
Alors le roi Marc loua les hirondelles qui, par belle courtoisie, lui avaient porté le cheveu d’or ; il loua Tristan et les cent chevaliers qui, sur la nef aventureuse, étaient allés lui quérir la joie de ses yeux et de son cœur. Hélas ! la nef vous apporte, à vous aussi, noble roi, l’âpre deuil et les forts tourments.
Eighteen days later, having summoned all his barons, he took Iseut the Blonde to wife. But, when night came, Brangien, in order to hide the dishonor of the queen and to save her from death, took Iseut's place in the nuptial bed. As a punishment for the male guard she had made on the sea and for the love of her friend, she sacrificed her faithfulness to her, the purity of her body; the darkness of the night hid his cunning and his shame from the king.
The storytellers claim here that Brangien had not thrown into the sea the bottle of grassy wine, not entirely emptied by the lovers; but that in the morning, after his lady had in her turn entered King Mark's bed, Brangien poured out the remaining potion into a cup and presented it to the spouses; that Mark drank there widely and that Iseut threw his share away.
Mais sachez, seigneurs, que ces conteurs ont corrompu l’histoire et l’ont faussée. S’ils ont imaginé ce mensonge, c’est faute de comprendre le merveilleux amour que Marc porta toujours à la reine. Certes, comme vous l’entendrez bientôt, jamais, malgré l’angoisse, le tourment et les terribles représailles, Marc ne put chasser de son cœur Iseut ni Tristan : mais sachez, seigneurs, qu’il n’avait pas bu le vin herbé. Ni poison, ni sortilège ; seule, la tendre noblesse de son cœur lui inspira d’aimer.
Iseut is queen and seems to live in joy. Iseut is queen and lives in sadness. Iseut has the tenderness of King Mark, the barons honor him, and those of the smallest people cherish her. Iseut spends the day in his rooms richly painted and strewn with flowers.
Iseut a les nobles joyaux, les draps de pourpre et les tapis venus de Thessalie, les chants des harpeurs, et les courtines où sont ouvrés léopards, alérions, papegauts et toutes les bêtes de la mer et des bois. Iseut a ses vives, ses belles amours, et Tristan auprès d’elle, à loisir, et le jour et la nuit ; car, ainsi que veut la coutume chez les hauts seigneurs, il couche dans la chambre royale, parmi les privés et les fidèles.
Iseut trembles, however. Why tremble? Doesn't she keep her loves secret? Who would suspect Tristan? Who would suspect a son? Who sees her? Who is spying on him? Which witness? Yes, a witness is watching him, Brangien; Brangien is watching her; Brangien alone knows his life, Brangien holds it in his mercy! God ! if, tired of preparing the bed where she was the first to sleep every day like a servant, she denounced them to the king! if Tristan died by his felony!… So fear maddens the queen. No, it is not from Brangien the faithful, it is from his own heart that his torment comes.
Listen, lords, to the great treachery that she meditated on; but God, as you will hear, took pity on her; you too, be compassionate to him!
Ce jour-là, Tristan et le roi chassaient au loin, et Tristan ne connut pas ce crime. Iseut fit venir deux serfs, leur promit la franchise et soixante besants d’or, s’ils juraient de faire sa volonté. Ils firent le serment.
“I will give you then,” she said, “a young girl; you will take her into the forest, far or near, but in such a place that no one will ever discover the adventure: there, you will kill her and bring me her tongue. Remember, to repeat them to me, the words she said. Go on ; when you return, you will be freed and rich men. "
Then she called Brangien:
“Friend, you see how my body languishes and suffers; will you not go and seek in the forest the plants which are suitable for this evil? Two serfs are there, who will lead you; they know where the effective herbs grow. Follow them then; sister, know it well, if I send you to the forest, it is because of my rest and my life! "
Les serfs l’emmenèrent. Venue au bois, elle voulut s’arrêter, car les plantes salutaires croissaient autour d’elle en suffisance. Mais ils l’entraînèrent plus loin :
“Come, young lady, this is not the place to be. "
One of the serfs walked in front of her, her companion followed her. No more cleared path, but tangled brambles and thorns and thistles. Then the man who walked first drew his sword and turned around; she threw herself back at the other serf to ask for his help; he also held the naked sword in his fist and said:
“Young girl, we have to kill you. "
Brangien fell to the grass and his arms tried to spread the tips of the swords. She asked thank you in a voice so pitiful and so tender, that they said:
"Young girl, if Queen Iseut, your lady and ours, wants you to die, you have undoubtedly done her some great harm. "
She replied:
« Je ne sais, amis ; je ne me souviens que d’un seul méfait. Quand nous partîmes d’Irlande, nous emportions chacune, comme la plus chère des parures, une chemise blanche comme la neige, une chemise pour notre nuit de noces. Sur la mer, il advint qu’Iseut déchira sa chemise nuptiale, et pour la nuit de ses noces je lui ai prêté la mienne. Amis, voilà tout le tort que je lui ai fait.
But since she wants me to die, tell her that I send her greetings and love, and that I thank her for all that she has done me good and honor, since as a child, delighted by pirates, I was sold to her mother and dedicated to serving her. May God, in his goodness, keep his honor, his body, his life! Brothers, knock now! "
The serfs took pity! They took counsel, and, judging that perhaps such a misdeed was not worth death, they tied it to a tree.
Then, they killed a young dog: one of them cut off his tongue, squeezed it in a part of his girdle, and they both reappeared before Iseut.
"Has she spoken? she asked anxiously.
— Oui, reine, elle a parlé. Elle a dit que vous étiez irritée à cause d’un seul tort : vous aviez déchiré sur la mer une chemise blanche comme neige que vous apportiez d’Irlande, elle vous a prêté la sienne au soir de vos noces. C’était là, disait-elle, son seul crime. Elle vous a rendu grâces pour tant de bienfaits reçus de vous dès l’enfance, elle a prié Dieu de protéger votre honneur et votre vie. Elle vous mande salut et amour. Reine, voici sa langue que nous vous apportons.
- Murderers! cried Iseut, give me back Brangien, my dear servant! Didn't you know she was my only friend? Murderers, give it back to me!
- Reine, it is rightly said: "Woman changes in a few hours; at the same time, woman laughs, cries, loves, hates. We killed it, since you ordered it!
— Comment l’aurais-je commandé ? Pour quel méfait ? n’était-ce pas ma chère compagne, la douce, la fidèle, la belle ? Vous le saviez, meurtriers : je l’avais envoyée chercher des herbes salutaires et je vous l’ai confiée, pour que vous la protégiez sur la route. Mais je dirai que vous l’avez tuée et vous serez brûlés sur des charbons.
- Queen, know then that she lives and that we will bring her back to you safe and sound. "
But she did not believe them, and as if lost, in turn cursed the murderers and cursed herself. She held one of the serfs to her, while the other hurried to the tree where Brangien was tied.
"Beautiful, God thanked you, and now your lady calls you back!" "
When she appeared before Iseut, Brangien knelt down, asking him to forgive him for his wrongs; but the queen had also fallen on her knees before her, and both, embraced, swooned for a long time.
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